Saving Grace
by thezombiemarch
Summary: Phantom wanted to steal the rumoured treasure of Ereve, but things don't work out the way he planned, and something of his gets stolen instead. The history of the Empress and the Master Thief. /major edit 18 June/
1. Master Thief, Phantom

**AUTHOR NOTE:**

It's been awhile since I wrote fiction (particularly romance), but my Phantom and Aria feels were simply too much to resist. This fanfic is basically filling in the blanks to how Phantom and Aria met, and what he did in the duration between the two videos that Nexon posted. Somethings may or may not be accurate to the plotline in the game itself (because I'm not very good at remembering things), but I'll try to stay true to the storyline. Please read and provide feedback, because I'd love to hear what you guys have to think of it. :)

**EDIT 1JUNE:**

I revised chapter one a little! I tweaked the situation to fit what Aria wrote in her diary (Aria's diary in MS). It wasn't necessary, but since I was revising my chapters I felt that I should just change this as well. xD

* * *

His fingers brushed across the cool surface of the priceless vase. How quaint. The King of Ariant kept his treasures so tightly secured, but yet… He and his guards had failed to notice him.

The man hid a smirk, his face masked in the shadows of his robe. He had scrutinised every single treasure the King had owed and he knew the exact location and each and every one of them. Selecting the best for his collection gave him a headache though – he couldn't possibly steal everything, could he? It wouldn't all fit on the Lumiere! Nonetheless, the damages that the King was to sustain wouldn't be easy to stomach either.

So many of the precious treasures… But he hardly broke a sweat.

Getting through the security was easy enough – activating dark sight allowed him to sneak past the guards undetected. With his photographic memory, he was able to remember his plan to every last detail and execute it perfectly.

But… what would be the fun in it if he just stole everything undetected? He had a reputation to upkeep.

Casting a quick look at his surroundings, Phantom produced his card, fingers tracing the emblem that was embossed in nearly every one of them. With a swift flick of his wrist, the card sliced through the air and hit the mark.

The alarm activated.

It was a cacophony of shouts as the guards fumbled. Never had the security of the Ariant Castle been breached in the years that the King had ascended the throne. The confused guards ran around, shouting at each other as they tried to gather their wits and figure out what the problem was.

The robed man raised his wrist to check the time. It took the guards approximately four minutes to locate the broken alarm.

He deactivated his dark sight.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, dear guards," Phantom's voice rang out. The head of the guards all turned abruptly to face him. One yelled, and tripped trying to get past the rest.

"I would love to stay for tea, but I'm afraid I have to take my leave," Phantom smirked, bowing down.

The guards barely had time to react before Phantom disappeared in a flurry of cards, with the majority of the King's treasure stolen with him. The cards fluttered down towards them, landing in their hands in a rather mocking way.

Master Thief Phantom had struck again.


	2. Pleased to Meet You

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Do forgive me if the progression of this chapter is a little weird. Like I said, it's been awhile since I wrote something fictional. But yes, this chapter is about Phantom and Aria's first meeting - something that was never mentioned in the game. It may not be what some people have in my, but after all, this is my interpretation of their history. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Constructive comments are as usual, greatly appreciated.

On a side note, you might identify some unknown names in this chapter (if you play MS), namely Isabelle and Aiolos. They are only briefly mentioned in this chapter, but they may be of importance in future chapters. Gaston will also make an appearance in this chapter as well (and yes, I know he exists in Phantom's present - but Phantom has loads of money, so is prolonged life really that impossible?)

**EDIT 4 JUNE:**

I've edited this chapter and also added a new portion to it. And yes I'm sorry a new chapter hasn't been posted. ;~;

* * *

The blonde with the straight and long hair cascading down her back stood at her balcony, propping her chin up with one hand as she rested her elbow on the railing.

"Empress Aria!"

She straightened up, turning around gracefully to face the sound of the voice. One of her messengers – Eucleia, Aria believed her name to be – hurried towards her with an anxious look on her face.

"What is it, dear Eucleia?" Aria asked, kindly.

Eucleia gulped. "The King… The King of Ariant sent a message for you. He said that he was nearly robbed clean by this mysterious thief, whom he believes goes by the name of Phantom. He demands your assistance in investigations and recovery of his treasures."

Aria raised an eyebrow. _Nearly _robbed clean? Well, this Phantom guy certainly was an interesting fellow, targeting the obnoxious King of Ariant –

_Mind your language!_ Aria could hear Elena chastising her. She mentally shuddered at the thought.

She _did_ suppose he had it coming. The Ariant King was certainly not secretive about his possessions and couldn't wait to boast about them whenever he could. In fact, she sort of admired this Phantom fellow for robbing the Ariant King.

"Tell him that I will sent my guards to investigate, but I cannot make any guarantee that we can get to the bottom of this matter. I'm afraid that this thief has long evaded my guards whenever someone reports him," Aria instructed, mentally sighing. The King of Ariant was one of the most repulsive men that she ever had to liaise with, and she really didn't want to help him out.

But... she had her responsibilities as the Empress.

Eucleia nodded once and bowed respectfully towards her. Aria mirrored her messenger's actions and thoughtfully watched the girl leave the room.

Phantom, huh? She wanted to meet this man who was able to rob the King of Ariant blind and get away with it. From what she understood from the many replies, Phantom seemed to steal people's priceless possessions.

And yet, Ereve had nothing to offer but the grass and the trees. It didn't seem likely that this mysterious thief would choose to come.

Aria caught a glint in the corner of her eye, and an idea popped into her mind.

Maybe… she could make him come to Ereve.

xxxxx

_(Time lapse)_

His eyes slid from artifact to artifact, a smile dancing upon his lips.

"Gaston, am I not the most brilliant thief ever?" Phantom mused.

In one of the rooms in the Lumiere, Phantom's own ship and home, everything that he had ever dared to steal were lined neatly in shelves. From the great snow crystal of El Nath to the priced crown jewel of the Ariant King, Phantom had it all. There was nothing in the world that he couldn't steal, and not one thief could be compared to the Master Thief Phantom. Merchants and wealthy men often took to him if they were keen on dealing with, frankly speaking, illegal goods.

Illegal… but yet still eyed by many.

Gaston, Phantom's butler, chuckled, "My master, I'm sure you don't need my affirmation on a subject that we've long discussed about."

"You may be right, dear pal," Phantom grinned. However, his grin morphed into a frown as he eyed all his steals systematically. "But… it feels like something's missing."

He spun around to face Gaston, an eyebrow arched expectantly. His butler would know what he meant. Heck, Phantom thought he didn't pay the man enough for the lengths that Gaston would go to in order to satisfy his whims.

"Something, perhaps… from Ereve, master?" Gaston probed.

Phantom's eyes sparkled. "Is the treasure you speak of…"

"Indeed," Gaston smiled, "but I'm afraid it won't be that easy, sir. To the best of our knowledge, the treasure of Ereve has all but been a rumour so far. No one has actually seen the jewel. It is said that the Empress' greatest soldiers heavily guard the great treasure."

The blonde thief snorted. "There is nothing that I cannot find, Gaston. This hidden treasure will not stay hidden for long!"

"Perhaps it would be wise to scour for it during one of the Empress' conferences? Security would be tighter wherever she goes, and the Skaia may not be as heavily guarded as usual," Gaston suggested.

The Master Thief rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Stealing the Skaia would probably be his greatest feat yet, but as Gaston had kindly pointed out, it wasn't going to be an easy task. Activating something as elementary as dark sight was something that could fool the dim Ariant guards; and he knew that the Empress' guards were highly trained and carefully selected by her.

Not to mention… he had no clue where the great treasure was located in the vast palace.

"Nothing is impossible," he murmured to himself. He steeled himself for the task, and turned towards his trusted butler. "Gaston, make the preparations as quickly as you can. Get Isabelle to deduce possible locations of the jewel, and tell Renault to steer towards Ereve at once!"

xxxxx

He pressed his back against the wall, trying not to raise the attention of the guards.

The conference was still going on, but it seemed like the Empress had a never-ending supply of guards. Every corridor he passed seemed to have a whole row of them guarding every door.

Phantom sighed forcefully. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

Just then, he could hear light footsteps falling behind him. He panicked. He couldn't possibly trace back his steps, nor was it possible at the moment for him to dash into the corridor. There was no way the Master Thief would allow himself to be caught sneaking around the palace. Maybe… Maybe he should just give dark sight a shot.

He squeezed his eyes shut and murmured a few words under his breath. And at the very last possible moment, he activated his dark sight… just barely in time for a beautiful blonde woman to walk into his portion of the corridor.

Phantom had to bite back a gasp.

The most _beautiful_ woman he had ever seen.

_Empress Aria._

Now, there was no way he could steal the Skaia from such a gorgeous lady. It almost made him guilty just thinking about it. But maybe…

The thief bit his lip, and quietly followed the Empress.

xxxxx

Aria heaved a sigh of relief as she made her way back to her quarters. The conference was nothing but a flop. She could still hear the outcries of her people about the Black Magician, wanting her to do something to prevent all of them from falling into their doom.

But dealing with the Black Mage wasn't easy.

She was thankful she had her able guards to handle the crowd as she excused herself from her spot in the conference. All the shouting and worrying on her part was giving her a terrible headache. Aria was certain her trusted advisor-slash-tactician could use his words to persuade the crowd to calm down – it always seemed to work. Aiolos always had a way with words.

Aria settled herself down on the plush sofa in her quarters. As an Empress, she felt the weight of her people's expectations on her shoulders. Before the Black Mage reared his ugly face to the world, Maple World could even be considered as a peaceful place. But now there were little pockets of chaos all over the world, and there was only so much she could do. Aria was already stretching her resources thin by trying to increase the security in Ereve and the major cities across the globe. She couldn't possibly appease _everyone_, could she?

The Empress sighed forcefully and allowed her eyes to flutter close. Maybe she could just –

"Am I disturbing your peace, dear Empress?"

Aria's eyes flew open and she spun around to face the source of those words. What? How could anyone be in her room? She had specifically requested the guards outside her door to not let anyone in, save for her council and Aiolos.

And standing at the door of her quarters was a complete stranger.

"Who are you to intrude on me?" she fumed. The cheek this stranger had, barging in on a lady's quarters like some… some… uncivilized fool!

The stranger merely flashed her a charming smile and leaned against the door. If not for the fact that she was blazing _pissed off_ with him, she might have blushed a little.

"I think a smile suits you more," he commented casually, leaning against the frame of the door. A card manifested between his fingertips, and he released it, letting the wind carry it towards the Empress.

Aria caught it, her angry gaze leaving the stranger to stare at the card. What in the world? Wasn't this –

"Master Thief Phantom, at your service," the stranger bowed.

She found her anger giving way to curiosity, and a tinge of excitement. Was it possible that her plan might have worked?

"What is the infamous thief doing in my quarters?" she raised a delicate eyebrow, feigning surprise. "Are you here to _steal_ something from me?"

The thief bit his lip, as if he was toying with the answer in his mind.

"I'm still waiting for an answer."

His violet eyes found hers again. Phantom shifted his weight from one leg to another, feeling awkward. "To ask for the Skaia."

Aria's brows furrowed. "Did I hear you right? You want to ask me _for_ the Skaia?" She was flabbergasted. There was nothing more ridiculous than hearing the great thief _asking_ for her to hand over the precious jem of Ereve. Aria would have expected him to just swipe it right under her nose, but here he was!

Phantom folded his arms in front of himself. "I'm trying to be a model citizen here," he rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm asking you for the Skaia. Haven't I already done that?"

The Empress pursed her lips, trying to hold back her amusement. "The answer is no, Phantom. Please leave my room before I call in the guards."

The man smirked, a knowing look on his face. "They won't hear you."

"I'm sorry?"

"I provided ample distraction for them to handle. There's no one outside of your room," Phantom said, matter-of-factly.

Aria gaped at the thief. The idea that the mysterious Phantom single-handedly distracting all her guards seemed completely far-fetched; but yet, it did seem like something he would do.

"Please, just leave _now_," Aria demanded, still flustered. She may not be a match for this man, but she was still a force to be reckoned with.

Boredom was clearly reflected on Phantom's face. "Since you're not going to give me the Skaia, I'll just come back again and ask you. Until you give in, my Empress," he stated.

"I shall take my leave then," the Master Thief grinned. A rose materialised in his hands, and he covered the distance between himself and the Empress within a few long strides. "For you, milady."

Now she was _really_ blushing. Reluctantly, she accepted the rose from Phantom, and eyed him warily. He bowed again, before brushing past her, and running towards the balcony. Aria nearly screamed when he vaulted across the handrail, but the sight of cards _surrounding_ him like a protective veil stopped her.

When she looked past the handrail, there was no bloody body on the pavement.

Aria looked at the rose in her hand again, her heart fluttering wildly in her chest.

She wanted to meet Phantom, and now she had.

But she never expected _this_.


	3. Child's Play

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

This will be confusing, I apologise. **Chapter 3 is a new chapter as of 18 June**. Pre-edit, _Child's Play_ was not originally part of the fan-fiction. Rather, the original Chapter 3 was _Divulgence_, which has been since been moved to Chapter 4.

**EDIT 18 JUNE:**

A little note about the chapter itself. This chapter could be considered as a filler scene and comic relief. Phantom's being idiotic (how surprising) and as the title reveals, being a little childish. Just something for you readers to enjoy. It's not really plot-progressive. AND I APOLOGISE FOR THE LONG WAIT FOR NEW CHAPTERS... AND FINDING OUT THAT THEY ARE HORRIBLE. D:

* * *

Grinning to himself, he ran his thumb across the smooth exterior of the jewel necklace dangling casually out of his cloak pocket. He wasn't going to pretend that he didn't have it.

Honestly, though, did it really take that long for the lady whom he stole from to realise that her precious necklace was no longer in her possession, but in his?

At that exact moment, Phantom heard the panicked cry of the woman. He only smirked, not bothering with running away or tucking the glittering evidence away. He wasn't even making an effort to hide the fact that he was the thief.

It was all part of the plan.

And right on time, he heard the grunts of the Ereve knights behind him, trying to cover the distance between the woman and him. Phantom merely adopted a stroll.

"Stop it right there!" he could hear one of them shouting.

He complied, and turned around with a cocky smile on his face.

"Who? Me?" Phantom asked in mock innocence.

It didn't take long for one of the guards to tackle him to the ground, pinning his hands behind him. Phantom felt the cool metal of the handcuffs slapped against his wrist.

He allowed himself a secretive smile.

The guard hauled him back onto his feet, yelling at the others to surround him in case he made a break for it – not that it would be a problem. He didn't plan on running away.

"Not so cocky now, huh?" the guard hissed in his ear.

"On the contrary, actually," Phantom chuckled, but didn't bother to elaborate.

The guard grunted, and muttered under his breath, "I don't think you'll be so confident when we bring you in."

It didn't matter that only the youngest of the guards found this suspicious. He seniors waved him off and said that it was because of the extra hours that they've been putting in. Being able to catch the Master Thief was proof.

Phantom merely smiled knowingly.

xxxxx

"Empress Aria! Empress Aria!"

The blonde raised her head from the pile of papers she was looking at. A respite from all this paperwork she had to settle was extremely welcome. She arched an eyebrow at the guard who had barged into her little work room.

The guard bowed his head down in respect. "I'm sorry for interrupting your work, your majesty."

"It's quite alright, young knight," Aria waved dismissively. "Tell me, what's the matter?"

The guard sucked in a breath. "WehavecaughttheMasterThiefPhantomandhe'sintheques tioningroom."

Wait, _what_? Aria furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Slow down, knight."

"Sorry. I mean, we have caught the Master Thief, Phantom, and he's in the questioning room right now," the poor, frazzled guard said. Really, he never had to approach the Empress before, and now standing in front of her, he _had_ to act like an idiot.

Aria gaped at the guard. Did he hear him wrong? Her guards had actually caught Phantom? It was literally the most unbelievable thing that she had ever heard in her entire life.

"Bring me to him."

xxxxx

"I'm telling you," Phantom sighed yet again, "I'm not answering to anyone but the Empress."

The guard smacked his hands on the table top, leaning over it to look as menacing as he could. "Do you think that the Empress has time for such dallying with a _thief_? Who do you think you are?"

The thief hardly flinched. He merely drummed his fingers against the table top, his lips pursed in a thin line.

"So this is how you want to play it, huh?" the guard hissed.

Phantom looked up disinterestedly, apparently serious about what he had said before.

And then _finally_, he sees _her_.

His frown immediately morphed into a warm smile. "Empress Aria," he acknowledged, fingers producing a card from his cloak. The card sparkled, and then transformed into a single, beautiful rose in a shower of tiny, sparkling stars. "For you."

Aria folded her arms in front of her and made no move to take the rose from him.

If anyone wasn't as observant as Phantom was, they wouldn't have saw Aria trying to keep a smile from emerging.

"What's going on?" the Empress demanded of the interrogator.

The guard who was questioning threw his hands up in frustration. "We've finally managed to catch the thief who has long evaded our forces. He was guilty of stealing a jewel necklace from one of the merchant's wife who was visiting Ereve. But no matter what we ask of him, he refuses to speak unless _you_, your majesty, question him yourself."

Aria bit back a smile. "What do you have to say for yourself, Phantom?"

"Well, what was I supposed to do when you refused to see me for the past few days? Knock on the door to ask for your presence? Pft, too mundane," the blonde thief made a dismissive sound.

"I was busy with paperwork and strategising for a possible Black Mage attack, Phantom."

He shrugged, twirling the rose in his hands. "Too busy to meet the most charming man on Earth?"

The interrogator choked on air.

"If you must know, you were only able to detain me because I _allowed_ you to," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone, eyeing the guard. The guard looked at him incredulously and made to retort him, but Aria cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"What is your purpose, Phantom?" she asked.

"It's not like you don't know, Empress," he leaned backwards against the chair with a wry smile. "Would you oh-so-kindly hand over the Skaia to me?"

Aria shook her head. "I hate to break it to you, but I won't."

Phantom shrugged. "I won't stop asking."

"I won't stop declining."

He sighed dramatically. "Well then, f you won't hand it over, then I believe it's time for me to take my leave."

"You're not going anywhere you –"

Phantom chuckled, his form already starting to blur as he started to teleport away. "What did I tell you? I only _let_ you catch me."

Then just like that, he disappeared in a cloud of cards. The guard swiped at the empty air which Phantom's form had been just a second ago, flustered. His efforts were futile.

All that was left was rose on the table.


	4. Divulgence

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

I swear I should write a script instead of a fan-fiction. Loads of dialogue between Aria and Phantom in this one. A little angst on Phantom's part as well, I might add. And if you're confused as to who Aiolos is, well, I mentioned him in chapter 2 briefly so it's worth checking that out.

After reading it the second time I realised the flow of this chapter is a little weird as well... I apologise. I don't think I've completely gotten my writing touch back.

**EDIT 18 JUNE:**

This was originally (before the major edit) the third chapter, but has since been moved. **The original Chapter 4 (titled _Six-Point Attack_) has been moved to Chapter 7.** I have also slightly edited the chapter in terms of the writing style.

* * *

It has become some sort of ritual for the two of them.

Every night, Phantom would visit her. He would always materialise on her balcony, never entering by the front door like most people would. Sometimes Aria could feel the wind shift and she would _know_ that he was here. Sometimes he would catch her off-guard.

Aria no longer considered him as an annoying pest. In fact, she'd grown to like him.

Not that she would admit it to him. It wouldn't help to feed his already over-sized ego.

"Aria."

She smiled, but didn't turn around or respond.

"Are you trying to pretend that I don't exist? I wasn't aware that anyone could resist my charms."

Aria burst out laughing, a melodious sound in the beautiful night. She finally did turn around, and there in front of her was Phantom… with a rose in his hands.

Ah, _always_ a rose.

"I have never heard of something so absurd in my life, Phantom," she giggled. Yes, he was a charming man, but surely it had to be an exaggeration of how popular he was?

Phantom cocked his head to the side with a smile. "Is it really that hard to believe? Mind you, I have a line of girls waiting in line for my company."

"A line of girls?" she snorted incredulously.

"A line of girls that can wait for as long as they want, but I only want _your_ company," Phantom added.

This brought a blush to the Empress cheeks.

"I was hoping…" he started hesitantly.

Aria raised an eyebrow. The blonde thief was always so sure of himself that it was hard to believe he was hesitating now.

"Hoping that… I could, um," Phantom scratched the side of his head, "bring you out."

"Bring me out?" she exclaimed in surprised. "Phantom, you do realise that as the Empress I have _duties_? I don't just go wandering around out of Ereve in the dead of the night…"

Phantom's eyes sparkled with mischief. "I'm _not_ bringing the Empress out of Ereve."

She looked at him in confusion. "But you just said –"

His hand reached for hers. "I'm bringing _you_, Aria."

The Empress found herself spluttering, but before she could say anything to dissuade the Master Thief, he pulled her close to him and they teleported in a sea of cards.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Aria wondered how _anyone_ could feel comfortable using teleportation as a mode of transport. It made her feel absolutely queasy, and it was the weirdest sensation she had ever felt.

Then the queasiness ceased, and she hesitantly opened her eyes.

She could see that they were no longer on her balcony. Heck, they weren't even in the vicinity of her quarters anymore. In fact, she could see nothing _but_ the night sky, the winking stars, and the beautiful moon.

"You know, I could get used to being this close to you."

Phantom's words snapped her out of her reverie, and she hastily pushed herself away from his loose embrace. Blushing, she avoided his eye and shyly moved away from him. Aria could hear him chuckling behind her.

"Where are we?" she asked in wonderment, her hands gripping the golden rails stretched out in front of her as she admired the sight before her.

"Welcome to my ship, the Lumiere," Phantom responded, joining her by the edge of the deck.

"It's beautiful," she marvelled.

"I know, she's a beauty, isn't she?" Phantom sighed in contentment, running a gloved hand across the rail.

Aria spun around, trying to contain her laughter. "I was talking about the sky, you daft boy!"

Phantom blinked. "Ah… Yes, the sky's a beauty as well."

She burst out laughing at his misinterpretation. Phantom shifted uncomfortably, not used to being laughed at; but he got over his ego and joined her.

Aria wiped the tears from her eyes, her stomach sore from the laughing. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" she probed, casting a quick glance at the door to the Lumiere.

"If you want to," he said, shrugging, "but I thought you wouldn't want to miss out the view from the deck. We could always go in another time."

She gave him an evil eye. "What, you invite a woman to your ship and you keep her outside of it?"

"Only you, milady," Phantom joked, earning himself a smack on the shoulder.

"But you're right, I don't think I want to miss a minute of this," Aria conceded, sweeping up her robes and settling down on the edge of the deck. "I'm sure your beautiful ship would still be here the next time."

"Ah… So there _is_ going to be a next time?" he teased, joining Aria at the edge. He propped a leg up, resting an arm on his knee.

"I… No… I didn't say that," the Empress fumbled.

_"'I'm sure your beautiful ship would still be here the next time_'," Phantom imitated in a mock-female voice. Aria slapped him on the arm.

"I don't sound like that!"

"'_I don't sound like that!'"_ he mimicked, grinning.

Aria frowned. She didn't actually sounded like that… did she? Crossing her arms, she glared at Phantom, but broke the eye contact when she found his gaze too intense for comfort.

"Tell me something about yourself," she blurted out in an attempt to ease the awkwardness, turning her gaze towards the moon.

"Well, I'm ridiculously attractive, for starters. I also have a massive co – "

"Be serious, Phantom!"

"… a massive collection of hats," he raised an eyebrow. "Bet you didn't know that."

Aria turned towards him, eyeing him doubtfully.

"Okay, okay! I only have this one hat," Phantom admitted, raising his hand in mock surrender. "What do you want to know?"

The Empress mused, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Your childhood. Tell me about your childhood."

Phantom's gaze darkened, his gaze dropping from Aria's face to his gloved hands. "I don't remember my childhood," he said flatly. She tried to catch his eye, but he refused to look up.

"What about your parents?" she probed further, lightly placing her hand on his shoulder. She could feel Phantom tense up underneath her touch.

"Phantom?"

He remained stubbornly silent.

Aria sighed, withdrawing her hand from his shoulder. "You can't possibly _not_ remember the first years of your life."

"I just don't, okay?" Phantom shouted, making her flinch at the sudden increase in decibels. "I don't remember my parents because I never knew who they were. They died. They abandoned me. I don't know!"

Aria blanched. She didn't know it was such a touchy subject with him. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise…"

"How would you have realized?" he said bitterly. "I'm _Phantom_. No one knows anything about me."

"Phantom…"

"You want to know about my childhood? I'll tell you. I don't remember much, but what I _do _remember I grew up under a mentor's guidance. His name was Raven. He was the only sort of parent I had."

Aria kept silent.

"I remembered asking Raven if he knew where my parents were. He didn't. He said he found me as a baby in an empty house. He was a thief. He wanted to steal something, but he found _me_ instead. Somehow he got it into his mind that he could use a protégée, and he raised me up."

"Sometimes he really regretted his decision, and he certainly didn't hide it from me," Phantom laughed darkly. "But it was in his nature to never give up, despite all odds. I suppose I was lucky he found me. Otherwise I would have died."

"Raven taught me all he knew. All his tricks. He taught me how to fight. How to be a thief. He taught me how to steal discreetly. How not to be caught. I absorbed everything and came up with tricks of my own. Soon, I was matching up to him in terms of skills, and he was glad."

"It wasn't long before he was too old to steal anything without giving himself away. He told me that I would grow up to be the best thief in all of Maple World, and he was sorry that he couldn't see me reach my greatness. And then one day, he simply left, leaving a note stating that 'We'll meet again someday, comrade.'"

"That was most of my childhood. After he left, I had to fend for myself, and I was grateful for what he had taught me, because it was what that kept me alive," Phantom concluded. His eyes were painfully dry.

The last time he had thought about his past, he ended up hurting himself. He promised himself to never show any weakness, and yet, he was pouring his heart out to a woman whom he barely knew. A woman, who had the weight of Maple World on her shoulders. Why was she even listening to him blabbering on like some pathetic fool?

"I bet you think I'm a pathetic," he guessed.

Aria shook her head vigorously. "No, Phantom, I don't," she insisted. "Phantom. _Phantom_! Look at me!"

She stretched out her hand and gently turned his head to face her. "Phantom, I think you're the most amazing man. You persevered through all odds, and look at where you are today."

"Someone who steals for a living," he spat out bitterly.

Aria pursed her lips. "But you didn't give up. And that's all that matters. I believe you have the potential within you to do great things if you let yourself."

Phantom shook himself away from her grip, pushing himself to his feet. "I need to bring you back."

"Phantom…"

"No, that's enough," he shook his head. He held out his hand for Aria. With hesitation, she griped it and he pulled her up. He didn't let go of her, and again they were wrapped in the embrace of his cards. She barely even felt the queasiness this time round.

When she felt the breeze still, and heard the familiar sounds of Ereve, did she open her eyes. Phantom swiftly extracted himself from her grip, and backed away.

"Phantom, don't –"

"I'll see you tomorrow," he offered, and without a proper goodbye, he disappeared within a cloud of his cards.

Aria found herself staring at the spot where Phantom once stood, her mind whirling. Surely he wouldn't do something silly, would he? The Empress sighed, turning around and heading back to her quarters.

"Empress Aria."

She gasped, stopping in her tracks as Aiolos appeared in her line of sight. He did not look pleased.

"So this is what you've been doing the entire night? Frolicking with… that thief?" Aiolos asked harshly.

"Aiolos!" she exclaimed. "Don't jump to conclusions."

"I've seen enough, Empress. I've tried to turn a blind eye to you locking up your room at night, thinking that the stress of dealing with the Black Mage must have gotten to you. But then I find out that you're associating yourself with a _thief_! Do you know how that will reflect on you?" he barked.

"Are you even concerned with the welfare of Maple World?" Aiolos seethed. This struck a chord with Aria, and she was about to respond to Aiolos' haughtiness when he cut her off.

"Do you even know that the Black Mage requested for an audience tonight? I had to go in place of you – and he wasn't _pleased_ to say the least. He's threatening to destroy Maple World, starting with _Ereve_, Empress!" Aiolos ranted. "I trust that you will distance yourself from that thief and focus on dealing with the Black Mage, Empress."

Aria narrowed her eyes. "Thank you, Aiolos, for putting me in my place," she said calmly. "I'm sure you will do better than me at ruling Maple World."

"Empress!"

"Please, just stay out of my affairs," she snapped. "I am deeply apologetic that I wasn't performing my duties as I should have tonight. I promise you, dear Aiolos, I will address the Black Mage as soon as the sun rises."

"Now if you'll excuse me," she sniffed, stomping past Aiolos and heading towards her quarters.

Aria didn't even notice the hatred burning brightly in Aiolos' eyes.

Aiolos clenched his fist in anger. This was getting _too_ out of hand. He had to stop the Empress from making another mistake.


	5. Of Lumiere

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**UPDATE 18 JUNE:**

**Chapter 5: _Of Lumiere_ is one of the newest chapters as of 18 June!** Basically this is a filler scene. And if you are confused to the characters in this chapter, some of them are not NPCs in the game, but rather just original characters that I came up with. Most of these OCs probably won't be appearing in future chapters, but rather, they are preludes to a one-shot that I have planned in mind for the future. **The original chapter 5 (titled _Conference Adjourned_) has been moved to chapter 8.** _  
_

* * *

"You do realise that Aiolos is likely to blow his top if he finds out about this, right?"

Phantom merely chuckled. "Who says we're going to let him find out?" And really, it was getting on his nerves. He hasn't even met the guy, but he had heard enough from Aria to know that he won't like him very much. Phantom was sure that this Aiolos guy had Aria's welfare at heart, but honestly, was his reputation that bad that people needed to be wary of him? It wasn't like he was going to steal the Empress away from Ereve and build a mini Empire for her to rule, with him as the Emperor, of course. Not to mention, no more pesky tacticians to ruin things.

Not that he ever had any of those thoughts before. Nope. Never.

Thoughtfully, he bit the inside of his cheek as he led Aria to where his ship was docked. What would it be like if she _wasn't_ an Empress, though?

"…it didn't go so well," Aria said, then paused in her steps, her hands resting on her delicate waist. "Phantom, are you even listening to me?"

"Huh?" he blinked.

"I said, the last time you brought me out he was there to witness my return. And it didn't go very well," she sighed. "Just what are you thinking about?"

"Oh," Phantom blushed slightly, turning his head away from Aria to hide it. "I was just wondering… um, if I, um… got Isabelle to keep her… um, underwear!"

Aria raised an eyebrow disbelievingly.

"Yeah," Phantom laughed awkwardly, "that girl is always leaving her under garments around it makes me wonder if she's trying to seduce Gaston."

The Empress shrugged and continued on her way. "If you say so."

The Master Thief let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. It had only been so long. It would have been awkward if Aria knew what was on his mind.

It wasn't before long they reached the plains, which the Lumiere was docked. Well, his ship was still floating rather than actually touching the ground. Phantom had no problems with the soil on Ereve… But still. He didn't quite want to see his beauty being marred by dirt and scratched by the grass.

"Wow," Aria breathed. "The Lumiere still looks as gorgeous at it is at night."

"Of course," Phantom stuck his chest out in a rather proud manner. "An attractive man like me needs an equally attractive way to travel."

She cast a look at the egotistical, but endearing, thief. Just what managed to keep him so cocky was beyond her; but, she supposed it was what made her like him in the first place.

"If I may enquire," Aria turned to face the thief, "just where in the world did you manage to find her?"

Phantom's face brightened up almost immediately at the subject he loved. "Well, it wasn't easy –"

He was cut off by the sound of someone clearing his throat.

The two looked up to see the source of the sound, and there, standing at the edge of the deck was Gaston, a stern expression on his face.

"Sir, I'm sure you'd like to share your story _another day_ perhaps," the butler clucked. "I'm not certain that we can stay here any longer lest we get spotted and… you are aware of what will happen."

Phantom made a tsk-ing noise and shook his head. He shrugged apologetically at Aria. "This is Gaston, my butler and best man. As you can see, he gets rather cranky if we're behind on time. I'll tell you the story of how I got the Lumiere another time, then."

The Empress giggled, and glanced up at Gaston. "You have quite a dashing butler, Phantom."

xxxxx

The two walked down one of the many corridors in Lumiere. Aria was glancing around her with a look of awe on her face.

"I know the Lumiere is big, but once we're inside, it looks endless!" she exclaimed, turning sharply to look at the thief. "Is this some sort of sorcery?"

"I can assure you, no sorcery is involved," Phantom chuckled. "But, the Lumiere _is_ one of the biggest ships, sky or sea, recorded in history."

Aria continued to gape at the elaborate designs and furnishing of the ship. Of course, this was Phantom. She would expect no less from him. Intricate designs decorated the white walls of the ship, and the flooring was absolutely smooth and shiny. The floors of the palace weren't even _half_ this shiny.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked suddenly, looking around and seeing no one. "Didn't you say you wanted to introduce me to your crew?"

"I am," he states simply. "You'll see when we reach there."

Aria narrowed her eyes at the thief, wondering just what in the world he had up his sleeve.

xxxxx

What greeted her when they finally reached their destination – indicated by a mischievous grin on the thief's face – was a elaborate table piled with the most food Aria has ever seen in her entire life. Meals in the palace were a simple affair, given that she didn't want to be wasting food when other people in the world may not have enough.

"Phantom!" she exclaimed, affronted. "All this food for just us?"

The mischievous grin was still plastered on his face. "Not really."

At that moment, people began to fill the room, chattering loudly about what seemed to be of interest at the moment. They all stopped to stare at Phantom, before finally realising who he brought as a guest.

"Oh my god, it's Empress Aria!" Isabelle practically screamed.

Aria was used to people shouting her name when they saw her, but the stares were getting really uncomfortable.

"Guys!" Phantom called out. "This is Aria, my guest. Be kind, and good lord, _Isabelle_! You might want to wipe the drool from your mouth."

Almost immediately, the girl with the tortoiseshell glasses raised her hand up to her mouth in embarrassment.

Phantom motioned at his crew to sit down, and pulled Aria by her wrist.

"You already know Gaston," he said, waving at his butler, who managed a smile at the Empress.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, your highness," Gaston bowed.

The thief points at the girl with the glasses. "Isabelle is my intelligence collector and analyst. She may seem pretty out of it, but she does her job really well."

Isabelle blushed and shot a death look at Phantom. "I am your biggest fan, Empress. Literally. I keep track of all your conferences."

Aria blushed. She'd never met anyone who told her that. Somehow, she didn't know if she should be flattered, or disturbed.

"And the kid over there is Benjamin. He's in charge of protecting my storage from the evils of the world."

The boy with the captain's hat saluted Aria, and grinned. "I have a very important job!" he exclaimed, giggling.

"Captain Renault at the end. He's the one who steer the ship. I mean, I obviously can do it better, but why not just hire someone to do the work for me?"

The captain nodded in acknowledgement and bit his pipe casually. "Pleasure to meet you."

And Phantom continued introducing the rest of the crew to the Empress. Serge, the lady who had helped Phantom train to where he was physically now. Mathias, the man who tended to all his medical problems. And his maids, Katherine, Louise and Beatrice, who had a lot to say about Phantom's cleanliness (or rather, the lack thereof).

xxxxx

"So, how was dinner?" Phantom asked, raising his arms behind his head and stretching. "All to your liking?"

Aria grinned at him. "Can't match up to palace food… But it was good."

The thief moaned. "I cooked all of it and it's not as good as your palace nonsense?"

She looked at him in surprise. "You cooked it all?"

He sheepishly looked away and nodded once. "I have a lot of time on my hands when I'm not out stealing things. I thought I'd teach myself something useful… like cooking."

The blonde Empress laughed, and elbowed the thief in the rib. He yelped, rubbing the spot in a mock disdainful manner.

"It was pretty good, Phantom," Aria smiled. "I'm sure you don't need my compliments to bloat your ego."

"I guess that is true," he conceded, tilting his head up towards the night sky. "It was a lot of trial and error before I even got this far with cooking."

"I'm surprised it's not something you're _naturally_ good at," she joked. Phantom simply shrugged.

"How about I'll bring you around Ereve? Since you brought me to meet your crew and all," she offered.

Phantom raised an eyebrow. "You're not afraid of what Aiolos would say?"

"You're not really the nuisance that I've been led to believe you are," Aria bit her lip thoughtfully. "I think my people deserve to know that."

"I'm honestly quite flattered," he said, pulling a rose out of nowhere and presenting it to her. Aria accepted it graciously, and brought the rose to her nose, taking a whiff of the floral scent.

"It's a date then."


	6. Of Ereve

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**UPDATE 18 JUNE:**

**Chapter 6: _Of Ereve_ is a new chapter as of 18 June! **Another filler scene, with only a small portion of this chapter being important to the storyline. Then again, I could probably make do without it, but who can resist more Phantom/Aria interaction? xD I think I've probably disappointed my readers with all these crappy new filler chapters. I'M SORRY 8( **The original chapter 6 (titled _Knight of Horror_) has been moved to chapter 10!**

* * *

"A rose for you."

Aria honestly never got sick of the roses. It was the same thing everyday, but the scent of them was as fresh as the ones freshly picked from the bed itself. It was the promise of life, something that she learned to cherish as she grew into the role of the Empress.

With the Black Mage threatening jeopardising the lives of innocent people, the rose somehow managed to calm her, just a little.

She tucked the rose in her hair and grinned. Phantom reciprocated the smile.

"Where shall we begin the great tour of Ereve?" he whistled. There was a bounce in his steps that weren't normally there, and it made Aria wonder if the thief was actually _excited_ about being shown Ereve.

The things that she'll never quite understand about him.

"We'll start right at the heart of Ereve. The palace."

xxxxx

The Lumiere was grand in a rather flashy and loud way. The Ereve Palace was grand in a more quiet fashion. The pale gold details did not stand out like the bright and polished gold in his ship. Instead, there was a quaint manner in which one could appreciate the infrastructure.

Phantom did not know a lot about architecture, but whoever had built Ereve certainly had a considerable taste. It wasn't exactly his cup of tea, but he could certainly recognise a well-built building when he saw one.

"I think walking through the corridors without having the need to hide would be a different experience; as compared to your little escapade with dark sight awhile ago," Aria teased.

Phantom glanced at her in shock. She _knew_?

"I do have a council member who specialises in the darkness, Phantom."

Well that explained it.

And so they continued their little tour of the palace.

xxxxx

"I'm quite curious, Aria," Phantom asked suddenly as they exited the palace. "Just who are the creatures you share the island with?"

"They are a species called Piyo," Aria stated. "The Piyos prefer to live in high altitudes, which is why most people can go through their entire lives without meeting one. The knights and citizens of Ereve live with these peaceful creatures."

Phantom eyed a Piyo just a distance away. He – at least, that's what he thought the Piyo was – didn't look to be a very peaceful creature. In fact, that Piyo seemed to be shouting at the knights-in-training and handling the poor noblesse rather roughly.

The Empress laughed when the thief voiced his opinion. "They wouldn't choose violence unless they really have to. That's Kidan. He's the knight instructor."

She wrapped her hand around Phantom's wrist and tugged at it gently, pulling him with her towards the seemingly tough Piyo.

"Kidan!"

The feathered creature turned at the sound of his Empress' voice, and halted the sparring session with just a raise of his hand. He bowed respectfully, and the rest of the knights-in-training followed suit. "My Empress, how can I be of assistance?"

"Kidan, meet Phantom."

The Piyo raised a feathered eyebrow. "The Master Thief," he said. It wasn't a question, but rather more of an acknowledgement.

Phantom nodded. "The very one."

Kidan's serious face broke into a smile. "Any ally of the Empress is automatically an ally of mine," he said, sticking his hand out. Phantom reached forward and gave a firm shake. "But you'd have to excuse me. I have a tendency not to remember faces too well. I go through too many in a day because of my role in the knights' trainings."

Phantom pretended to be appalled. "How could you forget the greatest thief of all time?"

Kidan shrugged. "I may not remember your face the next time we meet, but your voice is certainly hard to miss. Such haughtiness in so little words," he joked. "Now, my Empress, if you don't mind me, I still have more to drill into these young fellas."

"Go ahead, Kidan," Aria smiled warmly and nodded. "I apologise to have taken up your time."

"Nonsense," the Piyo exclaimed. "It was a pleasure to see you, Empress. And I do hope we cross paths again, the self-proclaimed greatest thief of all time."

Phantom made to retort, but Aria tugged on his sleeves.

"But – " he spluttered.

"Kidan is a busy Piyo. Let's not bother him any longer."

xxxxx

Under Aria's guidance, the Master Thief met with the rest of the Piyos. Kiriru and Kiru seemed to be rather interesting fellows with a penchant for storytelling. Kiriwing and Kiriyu were just like Serge and Mathias, but of course, they weren't as good as the thief's own crewmembers.

"I would bring you to meet my council members… But you know how Aiolos will get if he catches wind of it," Aria apologised.

"It's fine," Phantom grinned. "Wouldn't want Aiolos to blow his top, would we?"

The two shared a laugh.

"I've had a pleasant time today, Aria. It certainly is more interesting to explore Ereve when the Sun is still up," he marvelled.

"It is, isn't it?" she teased.

"Certainly," Phantom agreed, before leaning in towards the Empress. Aria gasped lightly at the proximity that they were in, but the thief's serious expression was quickly replaced with a playful one. His hand brushed past her hair, and he produced a rose out of thin air.

"Magic," he said, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively. Aria chuckled, accepting the flower.

"This isn't magic. Magic is the sorcery behind your roses. They never seem to lose their fragrance or wilt," she countered. "Just what keeps it alive?"

"It's a secret for me to know, and for you to find out," Phantom winked. He raised his head to face the sky and sighed.

"I guess I should be leaving before Aiolos returns from his expedition," he shook his head in disappointment.

Aria frowned. "You're probably right," she admitted. "Aiolos must be on his way back."

The thief takes a step back and bows grandly. "Till tomorrow night, my lady."

A gust of wind and a shroud of cards later, he was gone just like that.

"Till tomorrow night," Aria murmured under her breath, a small smile on her face.


	7. Six-Point Attack

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Finally, an action scene! Also, Lotus makes an appearance (yay~) in this chapter. Lots of fighting, bleeding, and verbal fights. And apparently I suck at writing an ending to chapters when Aiolos is around. :/ And awkward observation: there's a lot of gasping in this chapter. Anyway, do enjoy! I really did have fun writing this chapter.

**UPDATE 18 JUNE:**

**_Six-Point Attack_**** was originally Chapter 4 before the major edit. The new chapters are 3, 5, 6 and 9.**

Also I've slightly edited _Six-Point Attack_ in terms of grammar and style 8)

* * *

Much time had passed since Phantom had shown her the crew on Lumiere, and her showing him Ereve. She was still having a horrid time trying to negotiate with the Black Mage, and things were looking rather dismal. It seemed like the inevitable end of the world, as they knew it, was drawing near. The Black Mage was a tough nut to crack, if he could be cracked at all. _"It would be the Black Mage's turn to hold the reigns of Maple World,"_ Aria remembered one of the Black Mage's Commander telling her. That world would be a very dark one indeed.

Aria shuddered at the thought. There must be some way for her to prevent this from befalling on Maple World. Vaguely, she remembered hearing about the whispers of a group who banded together in hopes of dealing with the Black Mage; but nothing was for certain, and she wasn't sure how long more she could wait before this group emerged from the shadows and joined her in defeating the Black Mage.

If the whispers were true, of course.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

The Empress gasped, nearly jumping out of her skin at the sudden intrusion. She knew that he was going to visit her like any other night, but yet she was startled by his voice. She must have been so absorbed in her thoughts that she failed to notice the signs of his arrival. The sweet smell of roses would waft to her nose, and a slight breeze would pick up as he teleported to her balcony.

"Phantom," she acknowledged.

"Fretting about the Black Mage?" he guessed. Really, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was on the young Empress' mind at this point in time. The Black Mage was becoming more and more impatient, and he wasn't being very discreet about it. More attacks have been reported than usual, and honestly, Phantom thought that the Empress' Guards could barely handle the influx.

He would have helped for the sake of Aria, but she always turned down his offer, stating that she was capable of doing it herself.

Not to mention, Aria would add, what would be of his reputation if people find out that the _master thief_ was setting aside his tricks to be _helpful_? (Phantom had been beyond offended when she pointed that out, but he eventually did agree with her.)

Aria sighed. "What else could have been on my mind?" She raised her cerulean blue eyes and met Phantom's violet ones.

A rose materialised in his hands, which he offered to her like he would every night. Aria always kept them safely in a chest under her bed – locked because she didn't want Aiolos to find another reason to be infuriated with her again. And by some form of magic or trickery, Phantom's roses never wilted. Each and every one was as fresh as it had been since the first day he gifted it to her.

Every time Aria thought about how charming Phantom was, she was almost convinced that he was the man for her. No one else understood her, not even her suitors from across the lands. There was that infamous reputation that came along with him, but yet he was so different when he was with her that she found it hard to believe that he was a thief.

Well, it wasn't hard to believe it sometimes… Because, well…

He _did_ steal her heart.

But yet, just as she was getting her hopes up, a sobering truth would wake her up. Phantom was here for a reason, and a reason only: he wanted the Skaia. As much as Aria liked to believe he came here for _her_, the rose told her enough. It was a simple gesture of flattery, but yet they both knew the question that hid behind it.

After all, there was no future between a ruler and a thief.

"I'll distract you," Phantom said. It wasn't exactly a suggestion, but rather it seemed like a promise. "I'll bring you out."

Aria's eyes lit up, not because she was glad for the respite (okay, maybe just a little bit), but it was the first time he'd offered to bring her out since the last incident. Perhaps he was ready to put behind all his doubts? Whatever the reason was, she was glad that he seemed to have forgotten about how upset he had gotten with her (even if he didn't say it aloud).

"Where to?" she probed.

Phantom grinned mischievously. "You'll see."

xxxx

"Ariant?" Aria arched an eyebrow at Phantom.

He simply smiled at her.

"I would have expected you to be banned from Ariant after your little act with the King," she wondered almost innocently. Phantom cast her a withering look, but he didn't come up with a response.

Curiosity was nipping at Aria, but yet no matter what she asked Phantom as they continued walking down the streets, he refused to budge.

"Just wait and see," he said, a knowing grin on his face.

When they _did_ come to a stop, Aria was dying from curiosity. What could the master thief have up his sleeve? Was secrecy really that necessary? Did he have something to tell her? Her heart skipped a beat.

"Look," Phantom pointed towards the corner of the alley between a row of shop houses. Aria's gaze followed his finger, and she gasped in surprise as she saw a ghostly figure of a young boy. She squinted, for the image of the boy wasn't very clear; but from what she could see, it looked like a younger version of Phantom. She bit her lip. What… was this? A phantom of Phantom?

Turning her head, she cast a glance at Phantom. The look on his face was somewhere between longing and reluctance. Aria wanted to ask him what this was, but with second glance, she decided not to ruin the moment and just go along with him. Phantom nudged her forward, and she had no choice but to follow him as he guided her through the streets again, following the ghostly halo of the boy.

The boy – whom Aria now assumed _was_ a younger version of Phantom, for the resemblance was too uncanny for him to be otherwise – snuck into a shop. It wasn't before long that the ghost image scurried back out, holding something small in his hands. A loaf of bread.

"I was desperate," Phantom offered as an explanation. "It was the first thing I ever stole."

Aria passed no judgment, and continued following the ghost under Phantom's guiding hand. By following the ghost she saw the side of Phantom that no one else did. He trusted her enough to tell reveal who he was. The Empress felt warmth radiate in her chest.

Finally, they came to a stop in the Ariant town square. The ghost disappeared as magically as it had appeared, and she took it as a cue for her to say something.

Phantom beat her to it. "You're probably wondering why I showed you that. You asked me more than a fortnight ago about my childhood, and I was reluctant to tell you because I was never this close to anyone else before. But… I thought about it, and I realised I trusted you. I trust you enough to tell you about my past, and to reveal the man behind the name."

She gaped at Phantom's sincerity.

"Aria, I –"

There was barely enough time for him to react before a bomb exploded just mere feet away from them. Phantom threw himself over Aria, pulling her close to him so that he received the brunt of the blow. The Empress squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the ground shake from the explosion, trying to make herself as small as possible.

When the shaking stopped, Phantom pulled himself from her, and Aria gasped to see the state that he was in. His clothes, particularly the back of it, were shredded from the blast. She reached out to touch a cut caused by the flying debris, but he grabbed her wrist and gave it an urgent tug. He pulled her towards one of the shop houses, kicking open the wooden door and shoving her inside.

"Stay here," he hissed, oblivious to his own injuries, and spun around to face the threat.

"Phantom!" she called out hoarsely, her heart palpitating so hard she was sure it was going to fly out of her chest. Couldn't he see how hurt he was?

Phantom pulled a small device out from a hidden pocket in his cloak, and his trusty cane extended from it. He held it in front of him offensively, his eyes darting around the square as he assessed his opponents. There were seven of them, dressed in dark suits. One of them stood out from the rest with the emblem blazed on his suit pocket.

"Who are you?" he demanded, swinging his cane at the nearest henchman. A blade extended from the end of his cane, lodging itself in the chest of the crony. Phantom forcefully tugged up, knowing his blade hit where it counted and pulled it out from the bleeding man's chest. One down, only six more to go.

The man who stood out from the rest only smirked. "I work for the Black Mage," he chuckled. "A commander of his, if you must know. Lotus is the name."

The master thief gritted his teeth, his eyes wild with rage. It was enough confirmation for him. This commander needed to die tonight.

Phantom let out a battle cry as he lunged at the nearest henchman, effectively beheading him with a swift blow from the blade of his cane. Lotus only laughed as he watched from his vantage point, away from the bloodbath. This fuelled Phantom's rage as he swiftly flicked his cards with his left hand, taking down yet another crony.

It didn't take long for Phantom to effectively decapitate all six of the henchmen. He panted, glaring at the last person standing.

The commander looked panicked for a moment as he cast a glance at the dead bodies. He quickly composed himself, looking steadily at Phantom, and beyond him, the Empress.

"Take it as a warning, _dear Empress_," Lotus spat venomously. "The Black Mage's patience is running thin. This is _nothing_ compared to his full wrath."

"You're all talk, you weak bastard!" Phantom shouted, lunging at the commander.

Just a split second before his cane made contact, Lotus's form blurred, and he teleported away. He materialised right behind Phantom, swiftly dealing a measured punch in his face before teleporting back to where he initially stood.

"Weak, huh?" he taunted. "You can't even land a blow on me."

Phantom gasped at the sudden attack, and collapsed on the ground, blood on his lips.

"I have no time to deal with someone who _plays_ at being a hero," Lotus hissed, kneeling down on one leg, tilting Phantom's chin with his finger. "Do you honestly believe you can redeem yourself?" he whispered so that only Phantom could hear. "Do you think that by doing this all for her, she'll actually _fall_ for you?" The Black Mage Commander only laughed, and withdrew his hand.

"I'm sorry, but I have to take my leave," the commander spread his arms out mockingly. "_Ta-ta_."

And then he was gone.

Phantom groaned from his prone position on the ground, using his cane as a support to get himself on his feet. He heard the Empress running towards him, followed by her crying out his name.

Painfully, he managed to turn himself around just as Aria embraced him in a hug.

"Ouch, Aria," he winced, "maybe not so tightly?"

The Empress tittered, and pulled herself back. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"I need to get you back to Ereve," he rasped. "It was a stupid idea to bring you out so far away from the palace."

"Wait, Phantom -"

The thief pulled the Empress towards him with his free hand, and with what was left of his energy, he teleported them back up on the Lumiere. When he felt the rough ground change into the smooth polished surface of his ship, Phantom released Aria, and promptly collapsed on the deck. The adrenalin finally wore off, and now he was dealing with the extent of his injuries. He groaned in pain.

"Phantom!" Aria cried, falling to her knees.

"I'm fine," he smiled weakly. "Gaston will have something to patch me up. I'll be fine in a few… weeks."

Aria's eyes was brimming with unshed tears. "What if the Black Mage attacks again? You don't have weeks to heal up, Phantom! Let me heal you!"

Phantom was in no position to refuse Aria's offer, mainly because he was too weak to fight her off. He shrugged lightly, and then felt the soft touch of her palm on his face, and a tingling sensation overwhelmed the area. He fought off the urge to giggle. The Empress then moved on to the superficial wounds on his battered body, and with each touch Phantom felt himself fixing up.

"Turn over," she commanded. Biting back a new wave of pain, he managed to turn over with Aria's help. Phantom heard her gasp.

"That bad, huh?" he joked, and then wincing when Aria knocked him on the head.

"It's… nothing that I can't fix," she started, her hand starting to press against his bloody back, but Phantom stopped her.

"Is it draining your energy?" he asked.

Aria hesitated.

"I'll know if you're lying."

She sighed in defeat. "Yes. It is."

"Then don't. I think Gaston has a salve for this sort of situation. I could always hire a bishop to heal me, Aria. Don't waste your energy," Phantom said, silently adding _on me_.

"No," Aria insisted. "You saved my life, and I owe you this much."

"Your life wouldn't have been in jeopardy if I hadn't brought you out of Ereve," Phantom spat angrily, pushing himself to a sitting position, his back away from Aria so that she couldn't try anything.

"Phantom…"

"No means no, Aria," he shook his head, getting up to his feet with considerable amount of effort. "I have to bring you back."

Aria looked up at the blonde thief from her kneeling position.

"Are you going to come with me willingly, or am I going to have to force you?" he threatened, albeit in a joking tone.

The Empress bit her lip thoughtfully, before getting up to her feet and taking Phantom's hand. Again, he pulled her close to him, and the dizzy feeling overcame her again.

"Empress Aria!"

She yelped in surprise, jumping away from Phantom guiltily. Hastily she cast a glance at the door connecting her balcony to her quarters, where Aiolos was, and then at Phantom. Both did not look very pleased.

"Um, Phantom, this is Aiolos, my tactician and advisor. Aiolos, this is – "

"The Master Thief," Aiolos remarked scathingly. "How nice to finally meet your acquaintance.

Phantom tensed up, his eyebrows furrowed as he nodded at the brunette. "Likewise," he said warily, meeting the dark eyes of the Empress' advisor.

Aiolos broke eye contact first to take a good look at Aria. His eyes widened considerably as he took in the haggard state that she was in. "Empress, is that _blood_ on your gown?" he implored.

A look of confusion passed over her face, and Aria looked down at her own gown. To her surprise, Aiolos _was_ right. It was stained with splatters of blood and dirt from the explosion.

"None of it was hers, I can assure you," Phantom hastily explained.

Aiolos shot Phantom a dark look. "What in the world was going on in your mind when you brought her out? Will you be responsible for the Empress' well-being if she gets hurt?"

Phantom's expression turned sour. "We got attacked by the Black Mage's commander, and she's perfectly fine, isn't she? I _have_ been responsible for her well-being."

"How is she '_perfectly fine_'," Aiolos mocked with air quotations, "when she has scratches all over her arms? If I'm not wrong, she would never have sustained these injuries if _you_ hadn't decided to ignore the fact that she is the _ruler_ of Ereve and deserves greater security than what one pathetic _thief _can offer."

"Enough!" Aria bellowed. "Stop talking like I'm not here!"

The master thief looked at the blonde in alarm. It was the first time he had ever heard her raise her voice at _anything_.

"Aiolos, if you must know, I was a willing participant in this escapade, so I am as guilty as Phantom is," she seethed. "He saved my life by decapitating _six_ of Black Mage's men by himself, and thus sustaining injuries that are far more serious than my own."

"You would never have been attacked if you were in the safety of the palace!" Aiolos shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Phantom. "Ever since he arrived, you have been acting like a _child_. You are an _Empress_, Aria! Not some peasant!"

"I would rather be a peasant than be restricted by the stiff rules of the palace!" Aria yelled back. Phantom placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to remind her of where they were.

"Do not touch the Empress with your filthy fingers, you thief!" Aiolos demanded. "You better leave this instance, otherwise I _will_ get my guards to throw you out, injured or not!"

Phantom backed away, his hands up in mock surrender. "I'll see myself out, thank you very much," he mumbled under his breath, before disappearing in a cloak of cards.

"Aiolos, _you _leave my room," Aria made out through gritted teeth. "_Leave _before I throw you out with my own two hands.

"Empress!"

"_Now!_"

Aiolos took a shaky breath and conceded. "Fine, I will. But this is not the end of it, Aria. We _will_ have to talk about your behaviour in the past few weeks."

"There is _nothing_ to talk about!" she uttered, pushing her advisor out of the doors of her room, slamming it shut.


	8. Conference Adjourned!

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Thank you for all the lovely comments :) Reading them spurs me on to write even more! I really appreciate them :3

This chapter is sort of like a filler, and also an **AU Chapter**. I needed something to fill in the space between the attack and the next chapter that I've planned, so the flow won't be too awkward... But the chapter itself is just a little awkward haha. Phantom's appearance and actions in this chapter doesn't happen in the storyline... I'll leave a brief explanation at the end of this chapter to avoid spoilers.

Enjoy~!

**UPDATE 18 JUNE:**

_**Conference Adjourned! **_**was originally Chapter 5 before the major edit. The new chapters are 3, 5, 6 and 9.**

* * *

"A conference?" Aiolos growled. "Is it really necessary?"

Aria pursed her lips, glaring at her advisor. There was once a time when she felt that he was the best man in the world, but in light of recent events, she really wanted to wrap her slender fingers around his neck and throttle him to death. It was starting to seem as if Aiolos had lost all his rationality ever since the Black Mage surfaced and threatened their peace. Lately he was going out of the way to disagree with all her decisions. It never was the case before.

"I think," she articulated with a slight strain in her voice, "that the people in Ereve deserve to know what we're up against."

"And reveal that you had a lapse in judgement?" Aiolos retorted.

"People make mistakes, Aiolos. Even me."

"What will people think when they find out that the _Empress_ has been dallying with a thief? The Master Thief, no less!" he countered.

"_Please_, Aiolos," Aria's frown deepened, "will you let it up for just one second? Phantom has been nothing but a pleasure to be with, and my _dallying_ with him has not been detrimental."

Aiolos opened his mouth to further reiterate his argument, but the Empress raised a hand to silence him. They have been fighting over the same issue ever since Phantom had entered their lives, and even if he wasn't sick of it, _she was_. She was sick of him reprimanding her for her decisions like she was a child who didn't know what she was doing. Aria may be a young Empress, especially considering the age her predecessors ascended the throne, but she was no idiot. She could think for herself.

Nothing bad has ever arose from knowing Phantom. In fact, it was a pleasant change in her daily routines. An eye-opener, if you will.

She took a confident step forward, then another until she was out of the shadows and onto the podium. Surrounding her were rows and rows of people, all gathered here in the palace square to hear the latest on their struggle with the Black Mage.

There were more important things to address than a petty fight with her advisor.

"Citizens of Ereve," she called out, her voice resonating through the amphitheatre. A hush fell over the crowd, and Aria could feel all eyes on her.

"I have called for a conference today to relay some disturbing news. My fellow people, we have been trying to appease the Black Mage the past few weeks, but as you know, he is getting impatient. I am aware of the disturbance he has caused in Ereve," Aria said, gesturing around her with her arms.

"He has not outwardly declared a war on us, but I'm afraid it is imminent. Yesterday, while I was venturing out in the streets of Ariant," she paused, not wanting to cloak her mistake from her people, "I was _attacked_ by one of the Black Mage's commander."

There were gasps of surprise, and cries of outrage. Foul play, they yelled. Aria could feel the tension increase.

"Rest assured that I am well, thanks to the protection of a certain man whom we know as Phantom," she assured. "If not for him, I might have met my end at the hands of the commander."

Again, there were outcries. But this time, it was split between the crowd announcing their distaste of Phantom, and wonderment at the fact that the Master Thief had saved the Empress' life.

All of the sudden, a huge gust of wind blew through, and the amphitheatre was filled with the flutters of cards. Aria brought her hand to her eyes as she squinted. _This was not part of the plan_.

"What is this?" Aiolos yelled, meeting the confused replies of the palace guards. Even Aria herself didn't know what was going on.

"Did you plan this?" he directed his bewilderment towards her, and all she could offer was a confused shrug.

As the wind died down, silence fell like a shroud. The citizens gaped and pointed in shock at the sudden intrusion. He stood tall, a serious look on his face as he met Aria's gaze levelly. The smell of roses wafted towards her.

"It's Phantom!" someone exclaimed.

There was no doubt that it was indeed the Master Thief. The cards, which were slowly fluttering to a rest on the floor, were a dead giveaway to his identity. However, the upper portion of his face was cloaked in the shadows created by his hat. Only smirk could be seen.

"Phantom," Aria blurted out, staring at him incredulously. Only she could see the mischievous glint in his eyes. _What an entrance._

"People of Ereve!" Phantom addressed the crowd with a gallant sweep of his arms. "Yes, it is I, the Master Thief, Phantom."

Murmurs swept through the amphitheatre.

"What the Empress has said is true: we were indeed attacked by a Commander of the Black Mage. Thank the heavens that the Empress escaped the attack with barely a scratch!"

Aria heard Aiolos hiss beside her. She resisted the urge to smack him.

"Are you going to take this lying down?" Phantom shouted. "Are you going to let the Black Mage get away with such an offense?"

The crowded yelled back their discontent.

"I swear on the heavens, I will give you the word that I will protect our Empress to the grave!" he declared. "I will formally announce my decision to court the Empress, and to protect her from the evils of the Black Mage."

A burst of applause rang through the room.

Aria had to get her guards to hold Aiolos back.

Phantom turned back to look at her, a grin on his face. She gaped at him like a fish out of water, in shock at his declaration, and also at his audacity. She expected nothing less than flashy from him, but this was going a bit too far.

The crowd was getting rowdy. Most were declaring their commitment to protecting Ereve. Some were swooning at Phantom's loud declaration.

He covered the distance between the two of them, gazing down at her with a smoulder in his eyes.

"What is this?" she hissed. "Was this necessary?"

Crap, she was starting to sound like Aiolos.

"Absolutely," Phantom smirked. "I've been waiting for forever to do this."

With absolutely no warning whatsoever, he tipped Aria's chin up and gently guided his lips towards hers. She resisted initially, but soon found herself giving in.

"CONFERENCE ADJOURNED! CONFERENCE ADJOURNED!" Aiolos screamed, struggling in the grip of the guards, who were confused. Were they supposed to continue to hold on to him, or let him go?

It was with reluctance that Aria had to pull apart from him.

"Not now," she whispered softly, smiling shyly as her lips tingled from where they touched his. Stepping away from Phantom, she faced the crowd again, a blush creeping up her cheeks as the full weight of what had just happened came crashing down on her.

"I thank you for your time," she called out. "Conference adjourned!"

**(A/N: I apologise for the abrupt ending. Next chapter will be better, I promise! Also, Phantom never has the opportunity to declare his love for Aria because she died before he could do so; which explains why I said that this chapter was AU. It doesn't affect the Nexon storyline though, although ****_now_**** Aria is sure of Phantom's love for her. xD)**


	9. Misdirection

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Yay, new chapter! This is a slight comic relief before the sad and tragic stuff comes into play. D:

**As of 18 June, the new chapters are 3, 5, 6, and this!** I'm sorry if it confuses anyone~ I just wanted to add in more Phantom/Aria before all the tragedy starts and then we all get sad and just end up rolling in a corner 8( But rest assured, this will be the last time I have a drastic edit to this fan-fiction.

* * *

"What do you mean, I'm _sick_?"

Gaston made to pull Phantom back to his bed, but the thief still managed to evade his grasp even in his condition.

Phantom had never heard anything so ridiculous in his life. Him? _Sick_? That was impossible! He never had a sick day in his entire life, not even when he was only living in the streets with just his wits to survive. He had a healthy body. How was it possible for him to fall _sick_?

"Phantom, don't act like a child! You need your bed rest!" Gaston chided, lunging towards the ill thief again.

"Sick is for the weak!" Phantom exclaimed.

"Which is what you precisely are."

"Preposterous! I am not a child, Gaston. Do not treat me like one!"

"At least let Mathias bring you something to bring down the fever, Phantom. Don't be ridiculous."

"I require no such thing!"

Gaston frowned. Even when Phantom was ill, he was still faster than he was. He doubted he would be able to subdue him and force him to get his rest. He supposed he could get the help of Serge and Mathias, but the second his eyes left the sneaky bastard, he was sure he'd disappear.

"At least think about Aria," Gaston tried again. "What if she falls sick too?"

"I am _not_ sick, therefore she cannot fall sick, Gaston. I need to see my love!"

The poor boy was delirious from his fever. Phantom's face was paler than usual, and he honestly looked like a ghost. His eyes were half-lidded from the delirium, and even his movements weren't stable.

"I'm warning you, boy. If you go out like this, or even use any of your abilities; who knows what will happen. This fever has decreased your accuracy drastically."

Phantom made a dismissive sound and stumbled away from Gaston.

The butler made no move to follow the stubborn thief.

xxxxx

His accuracy: hindered? Impossible!

Phantom still managed to teleport himself into Ereve, did he not? The familiar white and pale gold pillars greeted him. In fact, he swore that this was the corridor to Aria's room.

He was confident of it.

That is, until the footsteps he heard behind him turn into a high-pitched scream.

The thief winced at the offending sound, spinning around to see who was the source of the noise. To his surprise (and embarrassment), it didn't seem to be Aria or even any of the guards whom he had acquainted himself with.

It was a one of Aria's _maids_.

God forbid! He had teleported into the blazing _maid's chambers_.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he yelped, covering his eyes with his gloved hand while dodging the shoes tossed at his head. "I didn't see anything!"

He dashed out of the room, a hurricane of objects being hurled at him. Phantom could only deliriously hope that this minor incident did not travel.

When he finally did stop running, the onslaught of shoe-throwing had stopped, but right in front of him stood a disappointed young Empress.

"Just how old are you, Phantom?" she admonished. "Do you have no regard for your own health?"

He smiled at her sheepishly. "I'm perfectly fine," he insisted, albeit sheepishly.

"You are sweating from the fever, and your face is ghastly pale. How is that being 'perfectly fine'?"

"But I am," he mumbled.

"Do I have to ban you from Ereve to get you back to your ship?"

Phantom's eyes widened slightly. Okay, maybe he _was_ acting a little… immature about his condition. Maybe Gaston and Aria were right. Maybe the Master Thief _was_ sick.

He raised his hands in surrender.

And hoped that when he teleported back to the Lumiere, he wouldn't end up in _his_ maid's chambers. He wasn't certain his maids will _just_ throw shoes at him. They might possibly even throw _him_ overboard.


	10. Knight of Horror

**Author's Note:**

So I have slightly more time on my hands this week, considering that Friday was a public holiday. Thus I present you with _Knight of Horror_. It's not exactly a long chapter, but it's a prelude to something. ;) I hope publishing a second chapter this week will make up for the less than stellar _Conference Adjorned!_. Once again, I look forward to reviews, good or bad. Enjoy~ :D

**UPDATE 18 JUNE:**

**_Knight of Horror_**** was originally Chapter 6 before the edit. The new chapters are 3, 5, 6 and 9!**I swear, this will be the less drastic edit that I will ever do to this fic. From next chapter onwards it will all go back to normal, and normal means weekly posting! :D I'm sorry there was such a long break though. NOTHING THIS CONFUSING WILL EVER HAPPEN AGAIN.

* * *

There was only a mere breeze that humid night.

Otherwise the night was completely still. It unsettled Aria greatly. She didn't know why exactly, but there was something nagging at her like something bad was about to happen. Only, she didn't know what it would be.

She pushed herself off her bed, and slipped her tiny feet into her plush shoes reserved for the night. It was getting late for her standards, and Phantom had yet to appear. Usually, by this time she would have been on the balcony having a conversation with him, discussing about politics, talking about the stars in the sky, or just about whatever they fancied at the moment. It was so unlike of him to be late.

Well, not that this was ever an official arrangement.

Ever since Phantom declared his decision to court Aria, Aiolos was going through ridiculous means to tighten security on the pretext of not wanting a thief in the palace. Of course, this was all but a little setback to Phantom. Their greatest issue was the fact that Aiolos seemed to have planted himself outside of Aria's quarters whenever he wasn't strategising with the guards. It was nearly impossible for Phantom to meet her with Aiolos around. Her advisor would gladly throw and ban the thief from Ereve if he ever caught him in her room.

Tightening up security at night was the only preventive measure that Aiolos could do, because by now, everyone in Maple World was aware of Phantom courting her. Aria could sense that Aiolos' displeasure with Phantom was of a personal level, and he couldn't possibly reveal to everyone that he hated the man whom was trying to vie for Aria's hand in marriage.

Aria was about to leave her room for the balcony when there was a knock on her door. Her heart skipped a bit. Was it possible that Phantom was actually doing something like most humans did: entering by a door?

"Please, enter," she called out, hopeful.

Instead of a lavishly dressed blonde, the brunette at her door was impeccably dressed in noblesse robes. Aiolos.

Aiolos could see the crestfallen look on her face, and he clenched his fist. Was it really that disappointing to see him instead of her beloved Phantom? Was he lesser than the thief in any way?

He cleared his throat, hoping that the Empress didn't catch the change of body language. He smiled tightly.

"There is… a letter for you," Aiolos said, his voice dripping with disgust. "From Phantom."

Aria's eyes lit up, and he had to bite back a snarky remark about how worthless the thief was – but tonight he was not in the mood to get into yet another fight with the Empress about Phantom.

There were more important things to worry about.

Aiolos handed over the perfumed letter, before bowing. "I shall take my leave then, Empress."

Aria hastily waved her tactician away, eagerly tearing open the sealed envelope.

_My Aria,_

_I must apologise for not being able to visit you tonight. I have some urgent matters to tend to. An old friend of mine popped up all of the sudden and insisted that I must help her. _

_I am not sure how long this will take. It might just be a one-night thing, or it could take days. Until then, please do not waste your nights staying up to wait for me._

_Yours truly,_

_Phantom_

Aria bit her lip. Who was this mysterious female friend that had Phantom so preoccupied? She had never heard of him talking about any friend from the past, save for the crew on Lumiere, who had an odd sort of relationship with him; and his mentor Raven, who was more of a fatherly figure than a friend.

She felt a tug at her heart. Was she… was she actually jealous of this mysterious female?

"No," she muttered to herself, "there is no way I'm stooping that low."

The blonde only sighed as she fell back on her bed, the letter clutched tightly in her hands.

xxxxx

He winced as the sharp blade of the knife bit into his waist.

Phantom swung his cane-sword deftly towards one of his assailants and missed – just by a few inches mind you.

It certainly didn't help that one of his shoulder was grotesquely dislocated.

He was ambidextrous, yes, but every time he shifted just a tad too much, a sharp pain would rip through his shoulder, thus affecting his accuracy.

"My, my," he grimaced. "Aren't you lot skilled? Ten against one is hardly fair."

No one made the effort to respond to his jibe; at least, not with six out of the initial ten lying lifeless on the ground. Instead, they each lunged at him. Phantom made a disapproving noise, before expertly dodging every one of his assailants.

Just who wanted him dead so badly? He hadn't even stolen anything in the past few weeks – the necklace that he kept tucked in his pocket was bought with his own money! Phantom didn't remember offending anyone either, but perhaps it was someone with an old grudge?

It was ridiculous, really. He was just merely minding his own business, pleased with the necklace that he bought from a street merchant in Leafre, when this bunch of darkly dressed men jumped at him out of nowhere. They caught him off-guard, which explained the state of his left shoulder.

He was lucky he managed to kill five before the sixth got his shoulder. Otherwise, he didn't think he would be able to deal with the rest.

Phantom feinted right, before taking a swing towards the left and cleanly separating the head of his attacker from the body. He heard another jump at him, and he ducked, before doubling around and thrusting his blade through the back of the second attacker. It was a messy attack, but it did its job.

Jerking the blade out of the body, he gazed levelly at the two standing, a smirk on his face. He cocked his head to the side in a taunting manner.

"Come on, I promise it'll be quick."

"No!" one of them blurted out. "Please, spare us! We were told that this would be an advancement test to be a knight –"

The second assailant elbowed his comrade in the stomach, a look of sheer terror on his face.

Phantom's brows furrowed. A knight…?

The two assailants took this opportunity to run while he was distracted. They shared a panicked look with each other, apparently deciding that they were absolutely of no match against the master thief. Dropping their weapons, they darted down an alley and disappeared into the shadows.

He was disturbed by the news.

Sheathing his sword-cane back into its scabbard hooked on his hip, Phantom brought his uninjured hand towards his dislocated shoulder, grimacing at the angle the bone seemed to be protruding out. This wasn't something that he could pop back himself.

"To the skies, it is," he muttered under his breath, and soon he was surrounded by his protective veil of cards.

When the last of the cards disappeared, he was greeted by Gaston, who had a worried look on his face.

"Master! What in the blazers happened to your shoulder?" he exclaimed, rushing forward. "Who did this to you?"

"Long story," Phantom said through gritted teeth. "I have a theory and I would love to explain it all to you, but I need you to pop it back for me, _now_. I still need to see Aria."

Gaston clucked his tongue. "There is no way you can meet the Empress in this state, Phantom. Perhaps you should just send a message to her to explain your absence."

The thief shook his head stubbornly. "Listen to me –"

"No, master, _you_ listen to me. Stop being such a stubborn child and just do as I say for once. You're not getting any younger, you know."

Phantom gaped incredulously at his butler. The cheek of him –

With a look from Gaston, he slouched forward in defeat. "Fine," Phantom said bitterly. With his free hand, he extracted a card from his deck, and fashioned a messenger bird from it. He muttered a few lines of words to the bird, before releasing it to the night.

xxxxx

"Voice check required."

The Empress yelped in surprise at the sudden, but familiar voice. "Phantom?"

She jolted upright and turned to face the source of the voice. To her disappointment, he wasn't anywhere to be found. But… there was this peculiar bird perched on the top of her dresser, and _was that Phantom's emblem?_

"Voice approved. Playing message."

Her brows furrowed. What was this odd invention that Phantom had?

"_Aria. I'm sorry I didn't visit you tonight. I was… attacked, so to speak. I'm fine now, just a dislocated shoulder and a few cuts, nothing that could possibly kill me. Don't worry, I'll be back to being perfect when I see you tomorrow."_

Aria brought her hand to her mouth, shocked. Attacked? He was _attacked_?

_"And… I'm not sure if I should tell you this but… Don't be too quick to trust your council. Don't ask me why. I don't have any concrete proof but… just be careful."_

With that, the bird diminished into flecks of light, leaving Aria confused.


	11. Darkness From Within

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

No appearance from Phantom or Aria for this chapter... But rest assured this will only be temporary. :3

And I kind of get disappointed with myself when I produce such a short chapter, but... it's _quite_ an important scene and I don't want it to taint other chapters. xD

* * *

The ship from Orbis was only starting to dock, but the two knights-in-training couldn't wait any longer. They Flash-Jumped off the ship, with Kiru yelling at them in alarm. The two were blatantly breaching the safety regulations set in place, but there were more important things to settle than safety.

The pair kept their silence, as per instructions, and hastily made their way towards the rendezvous point. They were working on a time limit here, and if they didn't get back in time, their job advancement –

"Sir, Knights-in-training Syleus and Echion reporting for duty," the taller of the two, Syleus, panted and saluted the cloaked man hidden in the shadows of the trees.

"You're late," the cloaked man said simply.

"Yes, b-but the airship –"

"Silence!" the man bellowed. "I will not stand for tardiness!" It was a good thing that they were a safe distance away from civilisation in Ereve. A Tiv poked its head from its bush at the disturbance, only to shy away at the sight of the three men.

The two Knights-in-training gulped.

"Do you know what I do to knights who are tardy?" the man uttered in a calm voice, a far cry from the fury of his words before. "I deny them of their advancement."

"Blazing hell! It's not fair, sir –"

"Echion!" Syleus hissed, elbowing his friend in the stomach.

"Who said life was fair?" the man in the shadows smirked. "But enough of this nonsense. I want your report. Why is there only the two of you left?"

Echion pursed his lips tightly, not in the least pleased at his predicament. "Your _mission_ got the rest of them killed, Phobos," he sneered. "When you sent us out on this advancement test, you failed to tell us that our opponent was a highly skilled thief. In my years as a budding Night Walker I have never heard of such a life-threatening test. You have truly outdone yourself!"

_Smack!_

"Your manners!" the man barked. "Do not call me Phobos."

Echion gripped his jaw, shocked that the Night Walker had punched him squarely in the jaw. He couldn't believe it. The stories that his friends told him about the Darkness instructor were far from what he had experienced himself. It was like the man had a complete personality transplant.

Syleus could only gape at the two.

"So you have failed," the Walker surmised. There was no need for him to say anything else. The knights that he had sent out to deal with the master thief had failed, and badly. He had absolutely no need for them any longer, so why delay the inevitable?

"Do you know what I do to knights who fail their quests?" he asked nonchalantly, pacing in the darkness.

Syleus swallowed nervously. He knew the instructor was displeased with them, but he seemed so calm that it unnerved him. It certainly didn't help that the darkness looked like it was embracing the Walker. It didn't seem natural. Not one bit.

"I let them off and hope they reflect on their actions," the man chuckled darkly.

The two knights-in-training widened their eyes. That was it? They weren't going to get punished?

"Off you go," he grinned toothily. The two could only see the whites of his teeth. Well, if the Night Walker wanted to give them a chance instead of banishing them from Ereve, heck, they were going to take it. Leave the doubting and questions for tomorrow, when it was easier to reason with the instructor after a good night's sleep. Syleus and Echion bowed hastily towards the Walker, before shooting each other looks of relief and running off.

The hooded man merely grinned as he watched the two measly knights-in-training run away from him. His hand reached into the pocket of his cloak, fingers running across the cool surface of the object.

A flash of something reflective.

Without a word of warning, the Walker extracted his hand from the pocket and hurled the objects towards the two knights. The sharp spike of the throwing stars, tipped with a very lethal poison, embedded themselves into the necks of the noblesse.

"Reflect on your actions in the afterlife, boys," he snarled vehemently, watching in dark glee as the two crumpled to their knees, their life draining out of them. The darkness within him struggled to contain itself, and it wasn't before long that he released his newly attained powers with a flick of his wrist. A shroud rose from the shadows and surrounded the two dead, tendrils of darkness eating away at the bodies.

That would certainly save him the trouble of explaining the dead bodies to Kidan. Not to mention, with the ten of them dead, he wouldn't have to report to the _actual_ instructor of Darkness of their reckless behaviour.

Besides, Phobos wasn't the only one who had an affinity with the darkness. It was a wonder why he had repressed his abilities for so long. Before, his control and understanding of the darkness had been so limited. Now, it was like his eyes were finally pried open to the power so easily attained.

Eyes pried open by the Black Magician.

**(A/N: The identity of the Walker will be revealed in later chapters. I might even have a one-shot or a short fic to explain it all.)**


	12. Darkness Arising

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Well, no Phantom appearance in this chapter... But there is a brief mention of him ;) No worries Phantom/Aria shippers, there will be plenty of that in the next chapter.

Phobos mentioned here is the Night Walker of Aria's time (like how Ickhart is in Cygnus' time). He's mentioned in the previous chapter, and he will be mentioned again in one of the later chapters. But yeah. 8) It'll just get more and more depressing as we continue on... so brace yourselves? xD

And as a side note which is completely unrelated to this chapter, I'd like to thank all my readers, and especially those who pause awhile to post a review. It really means a lot to me. :D

* * *

"We must find a way to deal with this menace."

The Council raised their heads to meet Aria in the eye, surprised at the determination and anger in her voice. Each Council member had an affinity with an element of magic, save for Aiolos and Aria herself.

"I will not allow the Black Mage to get away with wrecking terror throughout Maple World. I _will_ make sure that Maple World remains peaceful and the menace dealt with. I will do _anything_ to keep Maple World safe," she affirmed in a steady voice, meeting the eye of each and everyone in the conference room.

The Empress' outburst didn't come as a surprise, but rather, it was the determination in her eyes that moved the council.

"Peace… may be tricky to achieve," Phobos, the council member and instructor of darkness, broke in in a low voice. The man with the short-cropped black hair looked around, his gaze lingering a tad too long on Aiolos before regarding the Empress again. "There have been reports of the disappearances of budding knights… especially those who were aiming to be a Night Walker."

Aria brought a hand up to her mouth in shock.

"We managed to find... the bodies of eight of them," Phobos continued, brows furrowed in distress. "Two of them have not been sighted since their disappearance."

"Have you thought that maybe the two no longer wanted to knights?" Aiolos piped in almost disinterestedly. "It seems to me like they have a guilty conscience."

"I hardly doubt that their disappearance had anything to do with their conscience. Their belongings are still in their quarters, and I don't think it's a coincidence that there has been a spike in the amount of dark energy that I can sense in Ereve," the darkness instructor stood up abruptly, knocking his chair over as he glared at Aiolos. "Maybe if _you've_ done your job properly and kept security tighter in such times of duress, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Do not blame me for your failure," Aiolos tensed up, his eyes blazing with indignation. "Security has never been tighter since the Black Mage's appearance!"

The other council members had to hold Phobos down lest he lunged across the table and throttled the brunette.

"_Enough!_"

Phobos stopped struggling against the people holding him down, but he continued glaring at the tactician. The council's eyes all focused on Aria.

"Aiolos, I know you can't be blamed for their disappearances, but I want you to tighten security even more, especially amongst our recruits," Aria instructed, before turning to face the fuming Night Walker. "Phobos, I can understand your distress at the lost of your knights, but please, direct your grief towards the investigation of the disappearances."

"As for the rest of you, keep an eye out for your recruits in case something similar happens again," she sighed. "You're all dismissed, with the exception of Phobos."

The council members reluctantly released the disgruntled instructor, but he no longer looked like he had murderous intentions.

As they filed out of the room, Phantom's advice suddenly flashed in her mind.

_Don't be quick in trusting your council members._

Could the deaths and disappearances be linked to one of them? Aria bit her lip as she looked at Phobos apprehensively. The traces of darkness that he spoke of seemed like what could have been left behind by a minion of the Black Mage… But Phobos was the only one who openly used dark energy. Could his distress be a carefully plotted plan of misdirection? Could he be working for the Black Mage?

"My Empress?"

She snapped out of her fretting, dispelling her doubts of one of her most loyal council members before turning towards him with a serious expression.

"Phobos…" she trailed off, unsure of how to put her question across. "What sort of… dark energy did you sense in Ereve?"

Phobos' onyx eyes met hers steadily. "It is not the sort that I would use, nor the sort that a thief would either," he stated, as if he could sense her doubts about him. "It's a cross between the energy that I can sense emitting from the Black Magician, and of an experienced Night Walker. Very similar to the energy emitted from the use of necromancy."

Aria's eyes widened at the implication. "Do you think the Black Mage might have infiltrated Ereve without our knowledge?"

"It is a possibility, my Empress," the Night Walker bowed his head. "He might have manipulated one of my students, or he might have planted someone of his own in our midst. Rest assured, Empress, I _will_ get to the bottom of this."

The Empress smiled kindly at the instructor of darkness, embarrassed that she ever had any doubts about him in the first place. She rested a palm on Phobos' shoulder. "I trust that you will," she said, before distractedly looking at the window. "Phobos… please go ahead first. I need some time to take this in."

The Night Walker nodded, before bowing down in respect and heading out of the room.

With Phobos gone, Aria slumped down on the chair, running her hands through her hair in frustration. Phantom told her not to trust any of her council members too readily, but who could it be? She trusted the master thief enough not to question his judgement, but how could she operate on doubt with the people she was so close to? Phobos didn't seem to be the one that she should be wary of… and the rest didn't have an avid knowledge of manipulating darkness enough to be suspicious. Just who exactly –

A loud crash emanated from the corridor outside the conference room. Aria jumped to her feet, rushing towards the door to investigate the cause of the ruckus.

She gasped at the sight of Phobos sprawled in a mess of broken ceramic. Aiolos was standing by, a look of rage on his face.

"Don't," the brunette roared, "_accuse _me for your inability to look out for your own knights."

Phobos merely returned the smouldering glare that Aiolos was giving him, dusting the broken fragments off his robe and getting himself onto his feet.

"Don't think I don't know," the black-haired man said cryptically, before backing away with a swoop of his cape.

The tactician made to lunge at Phobos, but Aria clasped onto his arm tightly. As if only just realising that the Empress was there, a look of alarm flashed across Aiolos' features.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" she exclaimed in bewilderment. Just what was going on between the two of them?

"He… he…" Aiolos fumbled, his usual fluency replaced by this stuttering. "He questioned my ability to protect you from the Black Mage."

Aria didn't think that was all that it was, but she didn't want to press him further. She released her grip on Aiolos when she was sure that he wouldn't go running after Phobos in a mad dash.

"Even so…" she started apprehensively, "there was no need to push him against the vase. The knights are more than capable enough to protect me against the Black Mage. Even if he got pass you, there are still hundreds of knights to get through."

"You don't understand what he said –"

"_Aiolos_. You don't need to explain. I _do_ understand," Aria assured.

"No," his hand sprang out and grabbed her wrist. She nearly jumped out of her skin. "You _don't_."

"Aiolos –"

"I care about you!" he burst out, desperation burning in his eyes. "I _love_ you, Aria. Everything that I do is for you."

She gaped at him.

"I've always kept this to myself, promising that I won't jeopardise everything that I've – _we've_ – built for Ereve, just because of my emotions," Aiolos said urgently, his grip on her wrist tightening.

"Aiolos –" Aria cried out softly, his grip turning painful.

"But ever since Phantom came along, I couldn't possibly stand back and watch him take you away from me. I am selfless, but not that selfless!"

"Aiolos, you're hurting me!" she whimpered.

The man finally realised what she was saying, and dropped her wrist like it was hot iron. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry –"

"Aiolos," she whispered, trying not to let the tears flow. "Our relationship is merely work-based. I only treat you like how I would treat my own brother."

"No, Aria, _please_ –"

Aria backed away as Aiolos reached for her again, eyes wild with fear.

He couldn't understand.

Why… Why was she _scared_ of him?

She took the opportunity of his confusion to gather the folds of her dress and to run down where Phobos had left by.

Aiolos only stared at her retreating back.

Confused. So confused.

Why –?

And then suddenly, dark anger.

No.

_No._


	13. More Dark and Dark Our Woes

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**  
AND HERE COMES ALL THE PHANTOM/ARIA FEELS. This is probably one of my longest chapters, ever, and I'm pretty in love with it. I won't ramble much here, but there are some footnotes at the end... just explaining things. But you don't have to read it if you don't care D:

On a side note, I'm going to be swamped with school work, projects and tests from now till end of August, so my updates may be sparse. I apologise. I love writing this story, and would never intentionally not update.

Oh and meanwhile you can follow me on twitter for updates on new chapters and new fanfiction. Especially for any major edits (which shouldn't happen to this fic again, but, yknow, others might). I'll also start posting 'progress reports' on how much each chapter is complete... seeing that I'm going to be pretty MIA for awhile.

* * *

The Empress of Ereve sat at her study table. This time, she was completely and utterly alone. In front of her were stacks and stacks of papers – reports about Black Mage and his commanders – that she probably will never be able to go through. But it doesn't matter. All the letters are the same, even though they each hold different content.

The Black Mage must be stopped.

If he is as powerful as they say, then she cannot save Maple World with brute force. She must find a way to somehow negotiate with him, talk some sense into him –

"Empress Aria!"

Her cerulean eyes lifted from the mess of words swimming in front of her, a look of worry replacing her frustrated expression. What was it that got her messenger sounding so flustered and anxious?

"Empress Aria!"

Eucleia burst through the doors of her study, her hair in a complete mess, strands coming undone from her tight bun. In her trembling hands was an envelope – a suspicious looking one, at that. Her eyes were wide with disbelief and perhaps a tinge of fear, struggling to catch her breath.

"The… the…" Eucleia made out, gasping for air.

"Slowly, my dear," Aria said kindly, but there was a tinge of urgency in her voice.

"The… Black Mage's commander… managed to evade our forces. Aiolos is… is working on finding out how… they managed to do that, but… but before the commander left, he… he said to give you this letter," the messenger panted, thrusting out the envelope with her shaking hands.

Aria hastily snatched the dark coloured envelope from Eucleia's hands. Indeed, it seemed to be emitting some form of dark aura that she could feel even without knowledge of dark energy.

There was no mistaking who the letter came from.

"You are dismissed," she said curtly. Normally, she wouldn't be so forward with her words, but surely people could understand the kind of pressure that she had to shoulder. She had no time for courtesy at this juncture.

Eucleia shuffled out of the room meekly, and once the door clicked shut behind her, Aria wasted no time in tearing open the envelope. Her eyes flitted from word to word, her grip on the paper gradually tightening.

She read the letter once, twice, thrice, making sure that she read everything right, before setting it down on the table. She reached out for a fresh sheet of parchment paper and her quill and began etching out her reply, with full intentions of sending out the letter before the Sun set.

Maybe not all hope was lost after all.

xxxxx

"Goddammit, Mathias. I _do not_ need a sling."

The master thief stared incredulously at the offending green fabric, in the hands of Lumiere's own healer. Did it not occur to his healer that green was not his colour? Or the fact that green clashed with his white-gold-brown ensemble?

In all seriousness though, how was he going to fight if one arm was in a sling? What someone decided to assault him again?

Phantom would look weak. And he did not like to look weak. Looking weak meant that he would be an easy target, and then where would his reputation go?

"A bishop can only do so much, Phantom," Mathias said condescendingly, eyeing Phantom's bad shoulder. Even after being popped back by Gaston and healed by a bishop they picked up en route to Ereve, it still didn't look too good. "She only managed to accelerate the healing process tenfold. In other words, your shoulder has not completely recovered from the trauma."

"Bullshit. I feel perfectly fine!" the master thief exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air as an emphasis. A sharp pain shot up his arm because of his little _emphasis_, but he kept his face carefully composed. "Now, _really_, Mathias. Get that offending cloth away from me or I will shred it to piece. And then throw you off my ship."

Having gotten used to Phantom's ridiculous antics and childish behaviour, Mathias hardly batted an eye at the thin threat. He only shook his head at the stubborn thief, before spinning on the balls of his feet and down the corridor.

Phantom heaved a little sigh, before clasping his shoulder with a little wince. He could only hope that no other ridiculously clad assailants decided to appear out of nowhere and assault him in the next few days.

_Hopefully_.

The blonde made his way back up the corridor – before he was ambushed by Mathias and his disgusting green sling – and towards the deck of Lumiere. Renault was taking a ridiculously long time to travel from Leafre to Ereve, especially considering that they once did that in 30 minutes _flat_.

Or maybe he was just anxious. Too anxious.

The large wooden doors separating the deck and the interior of the Lumiere swung out, and Phantom basked in the warm glow of the setting Sun as he stepped out, the warmth radiating through his body. He strode towards the edge of the deck, his gloved hands wrapping loosely around the golden rails as he regarded the sky.

He sighed, brows furrowed as the previous night's events flashed in his mind.

The attack was obviously planned. Whoever wanted him dead was definitely watching his actions closely, and it was unnerving. The idea that someone could be keeping tabs on the most evasive thief of his time, if not all time, was a really disturbing thought.

And so simply, the unidentified threat accomplished what many had failed to do.

Another disturbing thought was the motive behind the planned attack… for there was _none_.

At least, none that Phantom could think of. He didn't think that he had offended that many people. Even if he had, none of them would want him dead that badly. The only possible reason that he could conjure was because of his recent declaration of love for Aria, if not his mere association with the Empress.

Which lead to the most disturbing thought of all.

Whoever the unidentified threat was, he had power over the knights of Ereve. The power of hundreds – no, _thousands_ – possibly at his disposal was a very frightening thought indeed.

That meant that whoever was out for his blood might be targeting Aria herself. And the few people who had that sort of control of the knights and the budding knights were the council members, Kidan, and Aria herself. It meant that the Empress wasn't safe in possibly the safest place there could be in Maple World.

Such a cruel paradox.

Phantom clenched his fists angrily. If anything happened to her because of him… He will never forgive himself.

xxxxx

Night fell quickly. The evening glow soon gave way to the darkness of the night, the moon full and bright. Aria stood at her balcony, tense with both anticipation and trepidation.

Anticipating Phantom's arrival, feeling trepidation over what she had done earlier.

Maybe it was the fact that she was so tense, that allowed her to feel the shift in the air, and light footsteps – so light that she normally wouldn't have picked up.

"Who's there?" she gasped in reflex, her head turning around. But who else could it be? Perhaps she was thinking too much. Would she honestly expect a darkly dressed figure whisking her off to meet the darkest being in Maple World?

"Don't tell me you've been waiting for me all night?" Phantom grinned, perching lightly on her balcony railing.

A part of her wanted to smack him in the head; another wanted to run towards him and envelope him in an embrace. She did neither.

Aria turned back, eyeing the full moon with a sigh.

"You wouldn't happen to be willing to hand over the Skaia to me, would you?" the thief jumped off the railing and landed on the ground lightly. Aria could hear the joking tone that he adopted, trying to ease the tension that she was feeling. Well, she could play along.

"You are really persistent," she smiled to herself. "No matter how much you visit me, I won't hand over the treasure of Ereve."

She heard the thief chuckle. "We'll see about that."

Aria bit her lip thoughtfully, the weight of her earlier decision too heavy for her to bear alone. She needed to tell somebody before she let it be known to Aiolos. It was precisely because she knew that her tactician and advisor wouldn't react well to it.

"I've invited an envoy of the Black Mage to Ereve," she said softly, entwining her fingers together nervously. "I hope to negotiate terms of peace."

Phantom stopped beside the Empress, pulling a card out from his deck. He tilted the card towards her, and it transformed in a mess of light into a rose.

"All this frowning," he smiled lightly, "is going to make you look older."

Aria accepted the rose from him, her weary eyes lighting up. Trust him to make her feel better. A thief, of all people. Whoever said that he wasn't good enough for her was wrong. He was perfect, so perfect, and he understood her in a way that other people couldn't.

"I'm… I'm worried it might not work out," her eyes flitted down to the stone ground. "What if… What if the Black Mage…"

Phantom clasped her shoulder gently, giving it a quick squeeze. "You are the most convincing speaker I know, Aria. Don't question yourself. Don't let the Black Mage get the better of you."

She squeezed her eyes shut. "But this concerns the fate of Maple World. What if I mess up and jeopardise everything? Aiolos would do a better job than I can speaking to the Black Mage, but he's not pleased with me, especially after I rejected his confession –"

"What?" Phantom interrupted. "Are you saying that Aiolos –"

"Yes, he confessed his love for me," Aria opened her eyes, turning around to look at the master thief.

"Well, that explains things," the blonde thief's eyes darkened as he regarded the Empress. Should he tell her about his worries? Would his fear be unfounded? "Aria… You remembered the messenger bird I sent?"

The Empress blinked. "Of course."

"I'm worried that you won't be safe, even in Ereve," his brows furrowed, and he turned away. "I was attacked by men who mentioned something about an advancement test… to be a knight."

Aria gaped at Phantom. "You're saying that you were attacked by my knights?"

"I'm quite certain that they were," he affirmed. "But they weren't acting out on their own. Someone who has the power to control them must have send out the command to attack. The question is… who?"

The Empress bit her lip, recalling the conference with her council earlier in the day. Could the two incidents be linked? Could the dead and missing knights be the same ones who attacked Phantom?

"How… How many were there? And where –?" she asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

"Ten attacked. Two escaped. I went back to Leafre the next day but the area was cordoned off."

She paled, feeling faint. It couldn't be –

And then suddenly her world was tilting. She vaguely felt Phantom catch her in his lean arms, trying to see if she was fine. When that failed, Aria felt him carrying her up with one easy swoop.

"Aria. Aria!"

Then, she was facing the stars.

Dazed, her vision focusing and blurring. She somewhat registered the fact that Phantom was carrying her – to her bed? – and he looked panicked.

The feeling that she was floating in the air was soon replaced with the feeling of soft duvet. Her sheets surrounded her in a warm embrace.

And then things started to clear up. She blinked groggily, her vision focusing on Phantom, who was settled down at the edge of her bed.

"Aria? Oh, for the love of – Do I need to call someone? Your maids? A healer? _Aiolos_?" the thief rambled in a panicked voice, glancing at the Empress with worry-filled eyes.

Aria pushed herself into a sitting position with her elbows, shaking her head painfully slowly. "No, don't. It's probably just stress."

"But you _fainted_."

"I'm fine, really. There's no need to worry," she waved a hand dismissively, before pressing the hand against her head. There was a faint throbbing feeling at the back of her head and she wondered if she had hit something when she lost consciousness for that few seconds.

"How am I supposed to _not_ worry about you," Phantom demanded in a low voice, careful not to agitate the pain in her head, "if there's a maniac on the loose in Ereve commanding fledgling knights to assault people? Not to mention you've invited Black Mage's envoy into your own land? Do you know how many reasons I have to worry about you?"

"I can't afford to lose you." His voice cracked on the last word, and violet eyes wild with distress.

Aria's heart fluttered. She was about to open her mouth to respond, but he cut her to it.

"No, don't give me the bullshit about how you have hundreds of knights to protect you. What if they _can't_? How am I supposed to live with you gone? How am I supposed to go on about my life knowing that danger lurks in every corner of Ereve?" His voice was urgent, bordering on desperate. Phantom gripped the edge of the bed tightly, his arms shaking with a mixture of fury and worry.

She was at a complete lost for words. The thief was normally so elusive about his feelings, especially his feelings towards her; but now everything was spilling out of his mouth, and she didn't know how to react.

"Phantom…" Aria started, reaching out and resting a hand on his shoulder.

Then the tone of his voice became steely. He seemed resolved, determined. "I'm going with you to the conference."

As much as Aria would love to have someone with her during the meeting with the envoy, the one instruction that the Black Mage listed down rang clear in her mind.

_Come alone_.

She couldn't possibly explain it to Phantom. He wouldn't understand why she had to do it. He'll probably just see it as a trap, something the Black Mage crafted specifically to deal with her. But that was the thing. Whether it was a trap or not, it was a risk she was willing to take to ensure the safety of her world. She was so desperate, so convinced of her cause that she would do absolutely _anything_ to achieve it.

Absolutely anything.

"No… don't," Aria choked. "Do you understand how much this means to me? To have the possibility of Maple World being peaceful once again? I know you have my welfare at heart, but I mean it when I say that it's a battle that I have to fight alone."

"Aria, don't be ridiculous."

"No, Phantom. I want to do this myself. I can't possibly risk aggravating the Black Mage by bringing in a third party –"

"So I'm just a third party to you?"

"_Please_, Phantom," she pleaded, a tear escaping from her eye. "I cannot afford to mess this up. You must understand how desperate the Black Mage has made me. If you still have my wishes at heart, please, just promise me that you'll stay away from Ereve the night the envoy is scheduled to arrive. Look over Ereve from Lumiere if you will. Promise me, Phantom. Please."

The thief looked away, lips pursed tightly. He couldn't understand how she could be so selfless. He certainly couldn't comprehend why she was so willing to just throw away everything and risk her life just to achieve the thinly promised peace that the Black Mage could offer. It wouldn't be that easy, he was certain. There _must_ be some catch to the Black Mage agreeing to send an envoy to discuss _peace_.

Black Mage and peace did not go together in a sentence at all.

Aria crawled towards him, her hand gently touching his chin, and turned his head towards her. "Promise me," she whispered, her face so close to his. "Swear on Shinsoo that you'll stay away from Ereve that night."

Reluctantly Phantom met her cerulean eyes, which was wet with tears. He didn't want to. He didn't agree with her point of view. He couldn't possibly just stand by in his ship, merely _observing_ while her life could be threatened.

But the fact that she wanted him to swear that he won't step foot on Ereve… Swearing, especially on a divine bird like Shinsoo, meant that he was magically bounded to his promise. He couldn't do that. It would be too painful for him to be unable to step foot into Ereve soil if something really did go wrong. He couldn't…

"Swear on it," Aria urged, leaning closer to him.

"I…" he faltered. Could he? Could he stand to just observe?

"I… I swear on Shinsoo that I won't step foot into Ereve," he mumbled, before adding softly, "unless your safety is threatened."

"Thank you," she whispered, before leaning in even closer.

The soft pillows of their lips met, gently at first; then their kiss deepened, becoming urgent, fierce, carnal. He couldn't get enough of her sweet scent, and she too. Aria's hands looped around Phantom's neck, pulling him closer, taking in his enticing scent. There was no resistance. He wrapped his fingers into her hair, the vanilla scent of her shampoo lingering.

Arms. Legs. Bed sheets. Tangled together.

They were synchronised. Their hearts beating as one.

Taking in each other so hungrily, like it was their first time alone together. Like it would be their last.

When they finally did come up for air, Aria rested a finger on Phantom's lips, stopping him from leaning in for yet another lustful kiss.

"Stay with me tonight?"

It wasn't a question. It was a statement. A request.

"Without a doubt."

He pulled her towards him, her head leaning on his chest. Wrapping his arm around her, he leaned in and kissed the top of her head. Aria entwined her fingers with his, her thumb stroking his callused palm.

And they stayed that way until they both fell asleep, a little contented smile on their faces.

* * *

**A/N:** **So basically for the first part of their meeting, I adapted the dialogue from the Phantom's Past video, both the KMS version (specifically the one that Spadow subtitled) and GMS version. Reason being that I find the GMS version to be really awkward and stuff, and KMS one seems to make a lot more sense. I _also_ included my own line somewhere... but yeah. xD**

**Also, the rest of the scene is inspired by William Shakespeare's _Romeo and Juliet_, specifically between the end of Act 3 Scene 3 and the start of Act 3 Scene 5. If you're interested in plays, then you should really read it.**

**AND ONE RANDOM FACT OF THIS CHAPTER, THE CHAPTER TITLE IS A QUOTE THAT ROMEO SAID IN ACT 3 SCENE 5. Okay you're probably uninterested bye ):**

**/please don't drown in feels**


End file.
